The backup catching job was a point of intrigue all offseason for the Seattle Mariners, and the story continues to unfold as the regular season shifts into high gear.
After trading away top prospect Harry Ford, who wouldn’t have gotten the proper chance to develop as a backup to a superstar like Cal Raleigh, the Mariners signed seven-year veteran Andrew Knizner to a major league contract in December. But they also re-signed their backup for the last two years, Mitch Garver, on a minor-league deal a couple of weeks into spring training.
It was an open competition between Garver and Knizner, and the incumbent won. His deal was worth more than double what Knizner’s was as soon as he made the opening day roster, and Knizner understandably wanted to look for new opportunities after clearing waivers last week.
Andrew Knizner signs minor-league deal with Rockies
On Wednesday, Knizner found a new home. The 31-year-old signed a minor-league deal with the Colorado Rockies and was assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to the official transactions log.
The Rockies, like the Mariners, have a clear-cut starting catcher with plenty of power in Hunter Goodman. But current backup Brett Sullivan has less than a month of major league service time to his name, and that makes eventually winning a job more realistic for Knizner in Colorado than it would have been behind Garver in Seattle.
Last season, Knizner served as the backup to Patrick Bailey for the San Francisco Giants and struggled offensively, posting a .598 OPS and one home run in 33 games. His career OPS of .597 indicates that he’s unlikely to ever provide a huge impact in the batter’s box at this stage of his career.
From the Mariners’ perspective, it’s unlikely losing Knizner ever proves to be hugely consequential, but they had a difficult choice to make at the end of spring training, so that choice will be judged on his results versus Garver’s from this point on.
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